Jeana Howald is entering her 22nd year as the head coach of the Mount Vernon Nazarene University fastpitch softball team in the 2011 season. Over the past 21 years, Howald has compiled a 466-362 overall record for a .563 winning percentage. She is the all-time winningest coach in the Lady Cougars' 26-year history.

Howald has guided MVNU to the National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament 10 times during her tenure with the program. After finishing as the national runner-up in 1992, the Lady Cougars returned in 1993 to claim their first national title. In the team's most recent appearance, MVNC finished fourth at the NCCAA National Tournament in 2008 out of seven teams.

Howald has earned several Coach of the Year honors throughout her career. She was the Mid-Ohio Conference Coach of the Year in 1992, and she has been named the NCCAA East Region Coach of the Year eight times. She registered her 400th career victory in the Lady Cougars' 2007 season finale as the team swept Case Western Reserve University.

Howald has served as the NCCAA East Region chair since 1994, and she also served for eight years as the co-chair of the AMC softball coaches association from 1996 to 2003.

Howald, who graduated from MVNU in 1982, was a three-sport standout in basketball, volleyball, and tennis for the Lady Cougars. She helped the volleyball team to its only NAIA District 22 title in 1980, and she competed at the NAIA National Tournament in tennis in both singles and doubles in 1981. She was inducted into the Cougar Wall of Fame in 1998.

Besides coaching softball, Howald served as the MVNU women's basketball head coach for seven years from 1989-1996. She led the Lady Cougars to their first NCCAA National Tournament appearance in 1994 and was named the NCCAA National Coach of the Year as the team won the national title and finished with a 23-10 overall record.

In addition to her coaching duties, Howald teaches several classes in the Physical Education Department and serves as the assistant athletic director. She is single and resides in Mount Vernon.

To contact Coach Howald, you can e-mail her at jhowald@mvnu.edu.